Does board gender diversity play an important role in environmental and corporate performance?

This research investigates the impact of Return on Assets (ROA), Debt to Equity Ratio (DER), Sales Growth, and Gender Diversity on Environmental Performance (EP) among 75 companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange participating in the PROPER program from 2019 to 2022. The study employs a random effects model. The findings indicate that ROA, DER, Sales Growth, and Gender Diversity significantly influence EP. Specifically, Firm Size (FZ) moderates the impact of DER on EP. However, Firm Size does not significantly moderate the effects of ROA, Sales Growth, and Gender Diversity on EP. The research provides insights into factors contributing to the financial performance of companies and the moderating role of firm size. The novelty of the study lies in the moderating role of firm size in the relationship between ROA, DER, Sales Growth, and Gender Diversity with environmental performance. The research contributes to legitimacy, stakeholder, and agency theories. Policymakers can leverage these insights to formulate strategies that encourage corporate sustainability. This study offers valuable information for companies aiming to enhance both environmental and financial performance, ultimately contributing to broader societal well-being

Effects of Mother's Illness and Breastfeeding on Risk of Ebola Virus Disease in a Cohort of Very Young Children.

BACKGROUND: Young children who contract Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) have a high case fatality rate, but their sources of infection and the role of breastfeeding are unclear. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Household members of EVD survivors from the Kerry Town Ebola Treatment Centre in Sierra Leone were interviewed four to 10 months after discharge to establish exposure levels for all members of the household, whether or not they became ill, and including those who died. We analysed a cohort of children under three years to examine associations between maternal illness, survival and breastfeeding, and the child's outcome. Of 77 children aged zero to two years in the households we surveyed, 43% contracted EVD. 64 children and mothers could be linked: 25/40 (63%) of those whose mother had EVD developed EVD, compared to 2/24 (8%) whose mother did not have EVD, relative risk adjusted for age, sex and other exposures (aRR) 7·6, 95%CI 2·0-29·1. Among those with mothers with EVD, the risk of EVD in the child was higher if the mother died (aRR 1·5, 0·99-2·4), but there was no increased risk associated with breast-feeding (aRR 0·75, 0·46-1·2). Excluding those breastfed by infected mothers, half (11/22) of the children with direct contact with EVD cases with wet symptoms (diarrhoea, vomiting or haemorrhage) remained well. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: This is the largest study of mother-child pairs with EVD to date, and the first attempt at assessing excess risk from breastfeeding. For young children the key exposure associated with contracting EVD was mother's illness with EVD, with a higher risk if the mother died. Breast feeding did not confer any additional risk in this study but high risk from proximity to a sick mother supports WHO recommendations for separation. This study also found that many children did not become ill despite high exposures

Variability in Intrahousehold Transmission of Ebola Virus, and Estimation of the Household Secondary Attack Rate.

Transmission between family members accounts for most Ebola virus transmission, but little is known about determinants of intrahousehold spread. From detailed exposure histories, intrahousehold transmission chains were created for 94 households of Ebola survivors in Sierra Leone: 109 (co-)primary cases gave rise to 317 subsequent cases (0-100% of those exposed). Larger households were more likely to have subsequent cases, and the proportion of household members affected depended on individual and household-level factors. More transmissions occurred from older than from younger cases, and from those with more severe disease. The estimated household secondary attack rate was 18%

Asymptomatic infection and family contact patterns in households of Ebola Virus Disease survivors, Sierra Leone 2015

The data set contains information on 937 people (living and dead) who were resident in the households of people who survived Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the Kerry Town Ebola Treatment Centre in Western Area Province, Sierra Leone, during the 2014-2016 epidemic. It includes individual and household characteristics, information on exposure levels, symptoms experienced by individuals during the period when the household was affected by EVD, outcomes, possible routes of transmission, and ELISA results from antibody testing for Ebola IgG in oral fluid. Survivor households were chosen because they were more easily contactable through the Save the Children survivors outreach programme: 123 of 152 survivors and their households were interviewed

Asymptomatic infection and unrecognised Ebola virus disease in Ebola-affected households in Sierra Leone: a cross-sectional study using a new non-invasive assay for antibodies to Ebola virus.

BACKGROUND: The frequency of asymptomatic infection with Ebola virus is unclear: previous estimates vary and there is no standard test. Asymptomatic infection with Ebola virus could contribute to population immunity, reducing spread. If people with asymptomatic infection are infectious it could explain re-emergences of Ebola virus disease (EVD) without known contact. METHODS: We validated a new oral fluid anti-glycoprotein IgG capture assay among survivors from Kerry Town Ebola Treatment Centre and controls from communities unaffected by EVD in Sierra Leone. We then assessed the seroprevalence of antibodies to Ebola virus in a cross-sectional study of household contacts of the survivors. All household members were interviewed. Two reactive tests were required for a positive result, with a third test to resolve any discrepancies. FINDINGS: The assay had a specificity of 100% (95% CI 98·9-100; 339 of 339 controls tested negative) and sensitivity of 95·9% (89·8-98·9; 93 of 97 PCR-confirmed survivors tested positive). Of household contacts not diagnosed with EVD, 47·6% (229 of 481) had high level exposure (direct contact with a corpse, body fluids, or a case with diarrhoea, vomiting, or bleeding). Among the contacts, 12·0% (95% CI 6·1-20·4; 11 of 92) with symptoms at the time other household members had EVD, and 2·6% (1·2-4·7; 10 of 388) with no symptoms tested positive. Among asymptomatic contacts, seropositivity was weakly correlated with exposure level. INTERPRETATION: This new highly specific and sensitive assay showed asymptomatic infection with Ebola virus was uncommon despite high exposure. The low prevalence suggests asymptomatic infection contributes little to herd immunity in Ebola, and even if infectious, would account for few transmissions. FUNDING: Wellcome Trust ERAES Programme, Save the Children

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy